God

Dear Hevreh,
I never held a pistol before, let alone carried one in a gun holster snug tightly against my hip. Yet there I was, a rabbi and a police chaplain, armed in a training simulator at the Middlesex County Police training center to get a taste of what police officers experience on a daily basis. The wall length screen in front of me projected scenarios that police face, from traffic stops of armed bikers and arrest warrant fugitives to domestic violence calls. It was sobering, surreal even, to encounter these individuals on the screen who, through the wonders of technology, seemed so real. As our Captain said, even though you know it's not real your heart rate will increase as[...]

God

Reflection on last week's Friday night service and this week's upcoming storm..."דומה דודי לצבי" (שיר השירים ב:ט), מה צבי זה מדלג מהר להר מבקעה לבקעה מאילן לאילן ומסוכה לסוכה מגדר לגדר, כך הקב"ה מקפץ מבית הכנסת זה לבית הכנסת זה מבית מדרש זה לבית מדרש זה. כל כך למה? כדי לברך ישראל.- שיר השירים רבה פרשה ב"My beloved is like a gazelle" (Song of Songs 2:9), Just as a gazelle skips from mountain to mountain, valley to valley, tree to tree, and dwelling to dwelling, fence to fence, so too the Holy One Blessed Be He skips from this synagogue to that synagogue, from this house of study to that house of study. Why? In order to bless Israel.- Song[...]

God

Parashat Haazinu 2015/5776: The Enemy of My Friend
In Moses' final instruction to Israel, he warns them that if they spurn God, then God will "hide God's countenance from them" (אסתירה פני מהם) (Deuteronomy 32:20). But curiously in addition to this threat of absence, God also warns the Israelites that God's support will be directed in favor of Israel's enemies: "They incensed me with "no-gods" (בלא אל)...I'll incense them with "a no folk" (בלא עם)" (Deuteronomy 32:21).
What is the difference between ABSTAINING from helping your friends versus AIDING your friends' enemies to hurt them? Does the identity of your friends' enemy matter? How does this relate to how we help or hurt our friends in our lives?
Photo is taken from[...]

God

Parashat D'varim 2015/5775 (Triennial II): Does Financial Success Come From God?
Most people know the biblical account of manna from heaven: God provides food from heaven for the Israelites in the form of "manna," a bread like substance that according to rabbinic tradition tastes how you want it to taste. Likewise, the Israelites often stop in the desert for God to give them water. But In the triennial section of this week's Torah portion, we read something different: the Israelites had to PAY the tribe of Esau for food and water (Deuteronomy 2:6)! Because the food and water are no longer "free," does it mean that God does not provide it for them? This does not seem to be the[...]

God

Parashat Matot Ma-asei -- Will You Go to War With Me?
The Iran Deal agreed to this past week calls into question the ways in which regional powers (Israel, Gulf States) relate to their allies abroad (America, France, Great Britain, etc.). Are their allies standing by them or leaving them to deal with potential consequences of the deal?
This week's triennial Torah portion (Numbers 32 and 33) appropriately deal with the issue of whether "allies" (i.e. tribes) will go to war with their brethren if their immediate needs aren't threatened. Likewise, how willing are we to stick our necks out for our friends if we are not affected to the same degree as they are? Will we be present with them or[...]

God

Parashat Ki Tissa 2015/5775 (Triennial II) -- Can the Chasm Between God and Humanity Be Bridged?
In this week's Torah portion we read the famous story of the Golden Calf (Exodus 32) in which the Israelites rebel against God. But more than just a simple rebellion, perhaps this "sin" indicates that the chasm between the holy (God) and the mundane (humanity) is too great to bridge. This issue is also addressed in the verse that opens the Torah portion prior to the story of the Golden Calf in which Moses receives the Torah from God (Exodus 31:18). Does the Torah reflect God's direct word? Or,[...]

God

Parashat Mishpatim 2015/5775 (Triennial II) -- The Difficulty in Telling the Truth (Exodus 22:4-23:19)
Telling the truth is not always easy, but it's an important part of our society. Deals would not be made and promises would not be kept if we are worried the other side is lying to us. In this week's Torah portion (Mishpatim) we have an allusion to the act of telling the truth "before God" (Exodus 22:7) which may be a forebear to the testimonial act of swearing by use of a Bible. Perhaps this is meant to teach us that fear or love of God will cause us to tell the truth. Yet, embedded in the[...]